History
Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. USS Cole is named in honor of Marine Sgt. Darrell S. Cole, a machine gunner who was killed in action at the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japan, on Feb. 19, 1945, during World War II.
USS Cole was commissioned on June 8, 1996, at Port Everglades, Florida. The ship, except the two aluminum funnels, is constructed from steel, with vital areas protected by two layers of steel and 70-feet of Kevlar armor. There is a platform for rearming and refueling a LAMPS III SH-60B/F helicopter (with anti-submarine warfare capabilities), but no hangers, so the ship is unable to house a helicopter of its own. Arleigh Burke is the first U.S. Navy class to be fitted out with anti-nuclear, biological and chemical warfare protection.
On Thursday, Oct. 12, 2000, USS Cole arrived in Port of Aden, Yemen to refuel. At 11:18 a.m. unknown to ship security, a small boat with terrorists aboard came alongside the ship and detonated a highly explosive bomb alongside Cole. The explosion created a 40-by-60 foot hole on the port side of the ship, taking the lives of 17 Sailors and injuring 37 more. Cole’s Sailors fought fires and flooding for the following 96 hours to keep the ship afloat.
The attack was attributed to al Qaeda and foreshadowed the attack on the U.S. less than one year later on Sept. 11, 2001.